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An Epidemic is Underway

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Hopefully, you did not notice.  Hopefully, your computer has been inoculated from zero-day viruses and the viruses that follow them.  If not, today is the day to update your virus protection and deep scan your systems.

Why? A virus outbreak continues to plague the Internet.

Starting Friday afternoon EST, we began seeing an large increase in the number of Virus Outbreak warnings for our clients covered by Google Postini Services (as part of Google Apps or protecting their internal email servers).  A Virus Outbreak alert reaches us when a large number of virus infected emails are being sent and blocked.

We cover thousands of mailboxes for hundreds of companies.  In a typical day, we see about five (5)  Virus Outbreak alerts.  Since Friday, we are seeing about 400 per day, an increase of nearly 8000%.  Unprotected systems are more than vulnerable, they are targets.

If you have questions about your level of protection, or you know of a business that needs better protection from spam and viruses, please contact us.  We are happy to help.

Horizon Info Services Receives FCC E-Rate Certification

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Libraries, Schools, and Rural Health Facilities can receive funding for up to 90% of the cost of
Google Apps, Google Postini Services, and related professional services purchased through
Horizon

Libraries, Schools, and Rural Health Facilities can receive funding for up to 90% of the cost of  Google Apps, Google Postini Services, and related professional services purchased through Horizon

WESTBOROUGH, MA – August 4, 2010 – Horizon Info Services, LLC announced that it is the first Google Apps Authorized Reseller to receive certification for the FCC E-Rate program.  With E-RATE certification, eligible libraries, schools, and rural health facilities can receive reimbursements from the FCC’s Universal Service Fund (USF) for Google Apps, Google Postini Services, and related implementation and support services purchased through Horizon.  Depending on the organization’s eligibility, reimbursements can range from 20% up to 90% of the service fees.

“This is a great opportunity for eligible entities,” stated Allen Falcon, Horizon’s founder and CEO.  “Through this program we help budget-strapped organizations save hundreds, even thousands, of dollars on email, communication, and collaboration services.”

By migrating to Google Apps, organizations gain more than subsidized email services, they get a range of communication and collaboration services.  The value proposition is far greater than other solutions. “You can use E-Rate funds to subsidize the cost of a Microsoft Exchange service and you get email and calendars,” notes Falcon.  “Switch to Google Apps, and you get email and calendars plus shared online documents; word processing, presentation, and spreadsheet tools; free voice/video conferencing; secure web sites for classrooms and project teams; and many other services.”  Because these additional services are free components of the Google Apps suite, they are covered under the E-Rate program. With other solutions, these services may not be eligible for reimbursement.

To promote the availability of funding for Google Apps, Horizon is hosting a series of webinars that cover the basics of the FCC E-Rate program and the steps libraries, schools, and rural medical facilities must follow to obtain funding for Google Apps and related services.  According to Falcon, Horizon also works closely with Google’s direct sales force and other resellers to connect eligible organizations to available funds.  Interested organizations can contact Horizon by email at info@horizoninfoservices.com or by phone at 866-356-1202.

About the E-RATE Program.  Administered by the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC), the program uses fees collected on every phone bill in the United States to equalize the cost of many telecommunication services for low income and rural communities.  In addition to consumer subsidies, the Universal Service Fund helps libraries, schools, and rural medical facilities upgrade and maintain a range of communication services and technologies, including email and related services.

About Google Apps.  Google Apps is a secure, integrated suite of communication and collaboration tools, including email, calendars, contacts, groups, office productivity tools, online document sharing,  secure collaboration web sites, video, and more.  Google and Horizon offer special pricing and discounts for schools, non-profit organizations, and governmental organizations.

About Horizon Info Services, LLC.  Horizon Info Services (http://www.horizoninfoservices.com) offers a range of cloud computing solutions to businesses and organizations with 1 to 500 users.  Horizon is an Authorized Reseller of Google Apps and Google Postini Services, in addition to a range of online backup, web security, and cloud storage solutions.

Economy is Ripe for Cloud Computing

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A recent article in the New York Times reported that in the current economy, businesses are spending capital rather than hiring additional employees.  As reported in the article, the Commerce Department noted that

“The equipment and software category alone grew at an annual rate of 21.9 percent, the fastest pace in 12 years.”

When we look  at the stats and trends, we see businesses moving forward with project that have been put on hold.  And, we question whether or not this is a wise move.  Is moving forward with a project that’s been on hold for 12 to 24 months still the best way to go? In many cases, the answer is “No!”.

Many businesses are facing upgrades to core systems and infrastructure — desktop operating systems, office productivity tools, email servers — and are looking to finally move forward implementing collaboration systems.  Much of this demand is driven by aging hardware and software that is reaching end of life and vendor support.

Before moving forward with existing plans, businesses would do well to reassess their planned directions.  The past 24 months has seen a dramatic improvement and expansion of cloud-based services.  During that time, for example, Google has added over 200 major features to the Google Apps Premier Edition suite of services.  And, the rate of innovation and adoption for cloud computing solutions continues to accelerate.

If businesses do not take a fresh look, they stand to miss the improved integration between Google Apps and Windows desktops — Outlook and MS Office; support for enterprise features such as delegation of email and calendars and mobile device management tools; and improve security and management tools.

In short, what was leading edge is quickly moving mainstream.  Reactivating projects without reassessing options means potentially missing better solutions and lowering costs.  And, wouldn’t most businesses rather spend money on people and projects with greater returns than on their infrastructure and email?

If your business would benefit from a free email and collaboration assessment, please let us know.

When it Comes to Phishing, is Honesty the Best Policy?

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Those of us in the anti-spam business have been scratching our heads recently as the number of messages getting through some of the best spam filters has jumped in recent weeks.  Many of these messages are phishing attempts with something in common.

The phishing messages do not attempt to hide their motive.

Huh?

That’s right.  The majority of the message is classic phishing.  Realistic sounding text (often without the grammatical issues) about account validation requirements and legitimate links to a real institution’s web sites.  The “action” link, however, is not hidden.  Recipients see that the link is to some weird URL that in no way looks like the organization supposedly sending the message.

Since spam filters are on the lookout for obfuscated URLs, having the URLs in the open seems to let the phishing messages fly just under the radar.

And clearly, those behind the phishing attack believe the enough recipients will click on the bad URL even though it doesn’t even look safe.  And, the sad fact is, they are probably right.

Recipient Beware.

Horizon Info Services Named Exclusive North American Distributor for OffiSync

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WESTBOROUGH, MA – November 12, 2009 – Building on its growth as a Google Apps Authorized Reseller, Horizon Info Services (www.horizoninfoservices.com) announced its selection as the exclusive North American distributor for OffiSync (www.OffiSync.com).  OffiSync is an add-on for Microsoft Office lets users save, share, and collaborate using Google Apps from menus and toolbars within Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.  OffiSync also includes content and image search features.

“The launch of OffiSync is another turning point in the evolution of Google Apps as a business computing platform,” notes Allen Falcon, CEO of Horizon.  “OffiSync lets businesses and individuals continue to use their current desktop productivity tools and Google’s innovative cloud-based applications — either as a migration path or as part of a long-term strategy.”

Users are more comfortable changing email software since many already use more than one email program – at work and personally.  Many users are not as comfortable changing word processing and spreadsheet applications.  OffiSync solves this problem.

In a recent interview with eWeek, Matt Glotzbach, Google Enterprise Product Management Director noted that “…it’s a great set of functionality and helps a business or enterprise bridge that experience gap between users that want to work in native Office apps and those users who want to work in the cloud.”

Horizon is actively signing up resellers throughout North America.  In addition to the community of Google Apps Authorized Resellers, Horizon sees strong interest from consulting companies and IT firms that help companies deploy and use Google Apps.  It is a win-win solution.  Customers benefit from easier migrations and better integration; resellers gain from accelerated sales and an incremental recurring revenue stream.

OffiSync is designed to work seamlessly with all versions of Google Apps used by companies, educational institutions, non-profits, and individuals.  Oudi Antebi, Founder and CEO of OffiSync adds that “We created a solution that works with all current versions of Microsoft Office and every version of Google Apps – Premium, Standard, and Education, as well as individual Google Doc and Google Site accounts.”

OffiSync is available as an annual subscription starting at $12 per year per user or under a traditional perpetual license starting at $30 per user.  Both licenses include support; the subscription includes enhancements, upgrades, and future releases.

About Horizon Info Services

Horizon Info Services is offers industry-leading technology services to small businesses at affordable prices, specializing in solutions for businesses and non-profits with 1 to 500 employees.  Based outside of Boston Massachusetts, Horizon is an Authorized Reseller of Google Apps and Google Postini Services and offers a range of online backup solutions.

About OffiSync Corp

OffiSync enhances the way information workers use productivity applications by bringing together their familiar desktop environment with innovative cloud computing services.  OffiSync extends the way users use desktop software and allows them to store their files on Google Apps for better collaboration and accessibility, as well as integrates with web and image search that make it easy to bring content from the web right into document and presentations.  OffiSync is an independent, privately held company headquartered in Seattle, Washington.